Wild animal defence charity Aspas calls for a ban on Sunday hunting to protect nature lovers as the season begins
France has the record for the number of species hunted, the number that are hunted despite being threatened, the longest hunting period (September to February) and the most hunting laws (seven in the past 14 years).
We are also the only country in Europe where hunting is allowed every day of the week, and it is just tough luck for walkers, nature-lovers, mushroom hunters or mountain bikers. Hunting does not leave room for other people to enjoy nature, and each year there are dozens of accidents related to it, too many of which are fatal.
We are asking that, for the safety of non-hunters, the law be changed and that on Sunday hunting be banned.
This year, the Education and Ecology Ministries, for the first time, signed an agreement with the National Hunters’ Federation: while preaching in schools is banned, hunters can now visit them to promote their activity with the state’s blessing.
Because of this, we are organising a campaign called “No to hunters in schools”, to show the media and state bodies that a lot of teachers and French citizens do not want their pupils or children to be used as tools by the hunting lobby. The world of hunting is over-represented politically and considerable amounts of money are amassed year on year by hunting federations. Under these conditions, it is not easy to fight each day to defend martens and polecats, to stop Sunday hunting or protect threatened species.
- If you own or rent land in the countryside, Aspas can help you set up a refuge, to stop hunting taking place on it. It costs e23, plus the price of signs, and simplifies complicated administrative procedures involved in banning hunting. More details at: http://tinyurl.com/Aspas-refuges (site in French).
- Rules on which species can be hunted are set each year by the prefecture for each area. The arrêté (official decree) for this, which also explains the conditions that apply to hunting in the area, can be consulted at the prefecture or at the Direction Départmentale de l’Equipement.
- Breaches of hunting rules can be reported to the gendarmerie or to officials such as a garde champêtre (a “countryside guard”, affiliated to the municipal police) or a lieutenant de louveterie (“wolfing lieutenants” were originally appointed to protect populations from wolves). These days, the role of these voluntary figures includes upholding hunting standards.
The hunting federation (Fédération nationale des chasseurs) responds:
It is totally false to pretend that France is the only country where one can hunt every day. First, because, according to the departments, the prefect can impose a day without hunting; eg. in the Manche, it is banned on Fridays.
Hunting can be practised on private land, and landlords should be allowed to do what they want on their own land. As far as public spaces are concerned, hunting is most of the time forbidden on Sundays in zones of high human frequentation.
To forbid hunting on a Sunday, the only day when the majority of citizens enjoy some free time, is inconceivable, because it would make hunting inaccessible to the majority. To say that this will reduce the risks of accidents implies that non-hunters are the victims: not only has this figure had been falling for years, but 95 per cent of the time it is the hunters themselves who are the victims of shooting accidents.
Species under pressure
Species that are officially protected are classified by the Ecology Ministry, which regularly updates its lists. In May 2007, it published a new list of about 50 protected mammals, which included wolves, brown bears, otters, hamsters, red squirrels, Northern African and European hedgehogs, etc. Species on these lists cannot be legally hunted.
Aspas is lobbying for protected status to be granted to about 40 species it believes are endangered. Aspas President Pierre Athanaze said species such as the wood grouse, the stock pigeon and the gadwall should be afforded protection.
Non-protected animals are classed as “game” or “harm-causing”. There are also species that continue to be hunted despite being protected, among which is the ortolan, which is a local delicacy.
